Ohio State coaches asked players to lose weight to keep up with Oregon

Keeping up with Oregon's fast-paced offense can be a monumental task. So in preparing for Monday's national championship game, Ohio State's defensive coaching staff knew they had to take into account more than just X's and O's.

Keeping up with Oregon's fast-paced offense can be a monumental task. So in preparing for Monday's national championship game, Ohio State's defensive coaching staff knew they had to take into account more than just X's and O's.

In order to last through all 60 minutes of fast-paced football, the Buckeyes staff asked defensive players to drop roughly five pounds in the 10 days between the playoff semifinal and the championship game.

"The tempo of their offense, the number of plays they were going to run, we felt it would be better for them to be a little lighter," Ohio State strength coach Mickey Marotti said, according to the Wall Street Journal. “Just dropping a few pounds can make a big difference.”

The strategy seemed to work. Ohio State held Oregon to a season-low 20 points, less than half their season average.

- Dan Gartland

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